Letters to the editor: Senators should know what's in bills

One of the most important duties of elected officials is the responsibility to be good shepherds of taxpayer monies. This includes knowing where billions of dollars are allocated and spent by the state of Michigan. Our government’s financial problems start, and are compounded, when elected representatives don’t know what is contained in bills they vote on.

It is magnified when 12-year career politicians, such as Sen. Jack Brandenburg says, when discussing Senate Bill No. 215 (“Bill Would fund dredging” in the March 4 Macomb Daily), that, “I believe the Clinton River is supposed to be dredged.” It is hard to comprehend that he doesn’t seem to know if dredging of the Clinton River, located in the district he represents and lives in, is included in this bill. Maybe the minuscule number of days he and fellow legislators spent in Lansing last year drained them so much they can’t be expected to know everything about the bills before them?

Advertisement

There are two major problems here. First, Brandenburg is co-introducing Senate Bill No. 215 and he isn’t sure what this bill contains. Second, he is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and has an even greater responsibility to know the financial ramifications of all proposals being considered by the state Senate. Also, as a business owner in Macomb County, it is puzzling when he displays such a laissez-faire attitude toward spending taxpayers’ money.

WILLIAM D. KRULL

Roseville

We must protect our Constitution

Should we throw out the Constitution and the Bill of Rights? Most people do not seem to know that much of what is done in Washington, D.C., is not legal. Our Founding Fathers must be turning over in their graves. They established our country so that it would not repeat the mistakes made by other countries. That included making people citizens instead of subjects. They wanted to limit the size of government’s scope and power, to provide for those who cannot provide for themselves, to provide for the common defense and not build a world empire with our armed forces. We were granted God-given rights that the government must protect. It is ironic that the documents giving us these rights are protected by armed security guards in Washington, D.C., and yet they are trampled on every day by many government officials who use their offices only for their own financial gain. Why should we even bother protecting the physical documents when the words are ignored, trampled on and sometimes figuratively spit on? If we are not familiar with at least the ideas put forth by these documents, then we are in trouble, but not as much trouble as our children and our children’s children who will be subject to manipulation and outright lies by our leaders if they are not properly informed. We should know that patriotism should be adopted by our fellow citizens and that our rights are something we are born with and not granted to us by human beings. Our behavior as citizens should not be based on reward and punishment but rather on the knowledge of our self-worth and a set of moral principles. We do need the government to protect us from individuals who are void of a moral compass. We realize there are a lot of “bad guys” and that we have a right to be vigilant and protect ourselves, our families and friends with armed force if it is needed. We need to know that our financial future is subject to the forces of world events and the vulnerable markets, both intertwined and subject to unseen forces, including organizations of powerful people out for themselves. President Kennedy tried in vain to warn us about that. Let’s keep those documents of our Founding Fathers and breath new life into them now. THOMAS JANTZ St. Clair Shores